Leader
by Auditory Eden
Summary: When Vampire leader Kuran Kaname is killed, how will his sheltered princess of a sister Yuuki lead her people, especially with the headstrong new Hunter Council head, Kiriyu Zero, fighting her all the way? AU
1. Prologue: Loss

Author: AuditoryEden

Rating: T

Warnings: Fairytale AU. I can't believe I'm writing this.

Notes: When the leader of the vampires, Kuran Kaname, is killed, his young sister Yuuki is the one to take the throne. But how can the sheltered princess hold her own against the powerful young leader of the Hunters, Kiriyu Zero?

xxXLeaderXxx

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Prologue

It was raining. That was all she could remember afterward, it was raining. It was cold and the rain was coming down like bullets as she waited outside for her brother to return. As he returned to her, after long hours, as a pale, bloodless corpse, his body mutilated, carried by those who had gone with him. Muttered condolences, the brief stroke of lightening and the roll of thunder soon after, the icy chill in her heart, all were swept away.

All she could remember was that it was raining. Even now, dressed all in black, by the exit of the hall, shaking hands and accepting apologies muttered softly, sadly, insincerely, all she could remember was the rain, how it wiped away her tears, unwilling to let her dignify his death with weeping. Diluting her sorrow, the value of her sorrow.

Leaving her hollow.

She watched the people passing with detachment. Each with their own story, their own reason to attend, each with their own agenda. That woman had simpered how sorry she was, clearly not meaning a word of it. That man had been near tears, one of her brother's most loyal friends. Some looked strange; at least by "human" standards. Hair colors and eye colors were a bit off, all complexions cadaverously pale.

Vampires, she thought humorously, then sobered. Why laugh about what she was, those her brother led....those she would now have to lead.

She blinked as a man with the strangest coloration she'd yet seen seemed to simply appear before her. He was just as pale as any of the Vampires there, if not paler, although she could he was not one. His hair was silver, not like an old man's, but silver nonetheless. Pale purple eyes, almost a silvery-lavender, stared out of his pale, young face. He scowled.

"My condolences," he ground out, not sounding sorry at all. The men behind him shook their heads. One was blonde, and had an air of deceptive cheer about him, despite his sober behavior and dark clothes. The other wore an eye patch and dressed a bit messily, with a shag of dark hair.

"Kiriyu-kun," the blonde man said, "You shouldn't sound so angry."

The silver-haired young man turned to him, gave him a baleful stare, rolled his eyes, and walked away, leaving the two older men behind.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Yuuki-sama," the blonde man began again, this time addressing the girl. She had watched impassively, with a stirring of amusement, while he told the boy off. Now she met his remarks with a carefully schooled tone.

"I thank you, sir."

The man went on, while she began to frown the tiniest bit she could manage. "I knew your parents quite well, before they died, your mother especially, and Kaname has always been a great friend to me," he rambled.

"Kaien, it's time to go," the darker man spoke, his voice gravelly. Yuuki could detect a faint whisper of cigarette smoke in his clothes, and that seemed to explain his voice.

"Yes, yes," the blonde, Kaien, apparently, replied distractedly. "Well, Yuuki-sama, I look forward to working with you in the near future."

"Working with you?"

Her voice was slightly louder than she had planned on it being, but quickly modulated.

"Well, yes," Kaien replied. "When you take over your brother's position as the leader of Vampires, you will be working alongside the Hunter Council, of which I am a part. The young man over there who was so rude to you just now is our new Head. A very talented and headstrong young man, and an excellent leader, or so he has proved thus far." He grimaced slightly. "He lost most of his family at a young age, and therefor is rather taciturn. We hope manners will come with experience. Well, good day, and once again, I'm very sorry."

As the blonde swept out of the way, the dark haired man also nodded, murmuring, "Condolences," and they made for the exit, where the silver haired man was leaning, apparently asleep. As they passed, however, he opened his strange eyes and fell into step just before them.

Yuuki watched the odd threesome exit the hall, then turned her thoughts inward.

They all believed she would lead her race, and she had known it for some time. Thankfully, no new leader could be crowned until the old one had been properly mourned, which meant no one had pressed the issue.

But how was she supposed to rule this mass of instinct-driven, fanciful creatures? Vampires, she knew from long personal experience, always liked to have their way. And while that usually made a leader properly assertive, it also meant that the people where just as assertive, and everyone was quite belligerent. As a pure blood, the last of her family, the traditional ruling one, she could induce fear or obedience into her subjects with just a word or a glance...in theory.

But Yuuki was too young to know how, or to be able to. Her brother was far older than she—both in mind and body. Yuuki was barely more than a child, seventeen years old. And now she had no one to teach her, no brother, no parent.

And that was just the vampires. The blonde man, Kaien, had said she'd be working with the Hunter Council, whatever that was.

How was she supposed to do all these things, fight all these battles, when this was only her third time seeing the world outside her family home?

xXx

Parting Comments: This should have introduced all the main players. Yagari, Kaien, Zero (w00t!), and Yuuki. I didn't kill Kaname off cause I hate him. I killed him off to further the plot. So no "OMG kaname basher!" reviews please.

This whole thing is going to be like...a miniseries, I guess. Only a few chapters, unless I get bit by a plot bunny. I don't know why I chose to write a fairytale-AU, but I did. God save us all.

Hugs and Kisses,

Eden


	2. Aquiescence

Author: AuditoryEden

Rating: T

Warnings: Angst

Notes: Not much will be going in the romance department at the mo. You'll all just have to hang around for a bit.

xxXLeaderXxx

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Chapter One: Acquiescence

He wasn't sure what he was going to do about her.

That Kuran princess could well be the thing that would make or break him as the new Head of the Hunter Council, and Zero had no idea what to do about her. She was the thorn in his side, the thing that made him angrier than anything else. Kaname, he could have dealt with, and did, because Kaname was a political animal. He knew the rules and what was what. The Kuran princess, Yuuki, he had to remind himself, hadn't even known that what the Hunter Council was. In some ways this could be good—all it would take was one stupid mistake by her to send the Vampire world crashing into the Hunter Council's waiting lap, but how did you negotiate with a girl who probably didn't even know the terms of the treaty that bound both governing bodies? She looked to be about his age—seventeen—but she also looked like she'd never seen the sun before.

Typical vampire, he smirked to himself. But that was a bad joke, and he'd heard plenty of bad jokes about vampires. He sat up, coming out of the slumped position he'd held over the desk. His back immediately protested, but he arched backwards to quell the pain. Sighing mightily, he grabbed the pen from where it had fallen from his hand, and looked back down at the document on his desk.

The formal acknowledgment of the Kuran princess's new position. It wasn't actually necessary for the vampires to have it signed to crown her, but if they wanted to continue the treaty that kept the Hunter's from killing every damn vampire on the face of the Earth, then is was, as Kaien said, "strongly advised". Zero, for one, was strongly considering simply not signing the thing—he had no substantial personal feelings against mass vampire killing—but as he knew he would have to attend the stupid girl's coronation anyway, he might as well.

Also, if he didn't sign it now, Yagari and Kaien would simply bug him with it until he did.

He scribbled his signature briefly, where it was required, and slapped it into the "out" tray on his desk. At the sight of it there, mouldering on top of ten or twenty other pieces of documentation, he had a pang of emotion. He was _seventeen years old_ and he had an "out" tray. He was seventeen years old and _he_ was signing what were essentially international treaties.

He was way too young for this job. He might have been the best Hunter in the entire Council, for certain reasons he kept to himself, but that didn't diminish the fact that other kids his age—shoot, other Hunter kids his age—were still in school, getting ready for university, having love lives and friends, and most importantly _not playing games with the head of the Vampire Council_.

Zero had great respect for the men who were his only "friends" and essentially his second-in-commands, Kurosu Kaien and Touga Yagari. Kaien was his uncle on his mother's side, and Yagari had trained Zero from a very young age, but sometimes, he just wanted them dead. Mostly, this was because they had ratted him out to the Council as being hugely talented.

Meaning that they were the reason he was stuck here, signing papers and worrying over how he was going to handle a very new, very stupid enemy leader, when he should have been worrying about mid-terms.

He reached for the next sheet of paper in his "in" tray—god, he had an "in" tray, too—and the let is fall back onto the stack. With a thunk, he let his forehead hit the desk, and receded back into the hunched position of earlier, staring unblinkingly off the side of his desk, his face expressionless, his mind at work.

xXx

The meeting room was awash with a frighteningly cold air, considering it was quite into spring and the out of doors temperature was nearly one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Members of the two councils were ranged along two long wooden tables, arranged to face each other across the long, thin room. At one end of the room was a door, huge, tall, and made of oak, set into the stone wall with hinges the size of small children. The opposite wall played host to a vast fireplace, and every member of the two councils, save two, were debating having it lit.

The two who did not seem to notice the cold were also, apparently, the source of it. Kiriyu Zero and Kuran Yuuki sat opposite each other, each dead center at the far sides of their respective tables. The silver-haired young man was growing progressively more frustrated as the meeting continued. While she seemed to have a basic grasp of what _not_ to say, the stupid Kuran princess clearly knew very little else about anything. He had brought up the subject of a gang of Level E vampires that the Hunter Association would need permission to deal with, and she'd simply told him that if vampires needed killing, that was his problem.

"Yes, Kuran-san, but the terms of the treaty state _quite_ clearly that any operation to kill more than five vampires who have not directly attacked the Hunter Association requires the permission of the head of the Council of Ancients. Thus, we require you to sign _that_ form." Zero ground out the words in his best "polite" voice, which was different from his actual polite voice, in that it was totally forced and quite obviously so.

"I see, Kiriyu-san, but I still don't understand _why_ you have to come to us to have permission to exterminate a nest of Level E vampires." Her voice was genuinely confused and Zero, though deeply exasperated, saw an opening.

"I suppose if you think it's too much trouble, we could modify the treaty?" Zero shot looks towards his Council, his voice sardonic enough to make it seem as though he were joking, but those who caught his glance smirked—they knew that the Kuran princess would probably not know sarcasm from seriousness, and this was the chance to seize power, without breaking peace, that they'd been waiting for.

Yuuki frowned her face twisted into a look of exquisite deliberation, with a tiny, some would say adorable, wrinkle between her brows. It sickened her opposite number, who watched her with contempt in his silvery-purple eyes.

This girl, his age, probably similar in situation, but no where near his level. With her as their leader, the vampires would probably end up dead.

So much the better, he commented to himself, anger pulsing at the sight of her, foolish, wide-eyed, and—

"Actually, Kiriyu, that's a very good id—" Yuuki began to speak, but was cut off by that _damn stupid_ pacifist, Kurosu Kaien.

"Yuuki-san, I'm afraid you'll find the terms of the treaty are the way they are for a reason. We have to come to you for permission to kill most vampires, which means that you have a guarantee that we will not wipe you out, at least without your permission. We, in exchange, have less trouble on our hands because you are expected to keep your people from attacking humans and creating Level E's," Kaien lectured in his best sing-song voice. Zero shot him a look full of daggers, and spoke in his iciest tone.

"Sit down Kurosu-san. I'm sure that Kuran-san doesn't need you to tell her the terms of the treaty, or their purpose, so mind your place and hold your tongue."

Kaien merely rolled his eyes and sat, making a minor show of keeping his mouth closed. Zero sighed and placed his head on his hand for a moment before turning back to the girl.

"I apologize on behalf of my uncle," Zero said, his quite smooth, although inside he was boiling with anger. "He is rather of a teacherly bent, and feels the need to instruct everyone. An admirable trait," he inclined his head towards Kaien by way of an apology, "but not one needed here."

"I'm sure Kurosu-san meant no harm," Yuuki acknowledged, bowing her head.

Zero sent another subtle glare in the direction of his uncle. "He did not, I assure you." Not to her, anyway. He would have to speak to his uncle about his loyalties. The man might have been passionately in unrequited love with the girl's mother, but that was no excuse to betray the well being of the Hunter Council. If he kept it up, he might just find himself sent away from the Council to set up that school he wanted so desperately.

"As we were saying," Zero continued smoothly, "the Hunter Council requires, by the terms of the treaty, that you sign that release form." He again indicated the single sheet of paper resting next to the small stack of other things in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him, turned her gaze to the form, and read. After a moment, she held out a single, insanely pale hand, into which a pen was placed by the blonde-haired man sitting next to her. She signed the paper, then turned her glare, which was deliberately wide-eyed and innocent-looking, back to the Kiriyu, who scowled at her. She waited a moment, then her wide-eyed glare collapsed, and her face took about the same expression his wore. Eyebrows furrowed extremely, mouth thin and turned down at the corners, eyes narrowed and shaded by dark brows.

"If there is nothing left to discuss," Yuuki ground out, her tone suddenly quite icy. Zero was shocked a little by her harsh tone, but didn't show it.

"I believe all issues have been addressed," he agreed, his tone just as cold. "Congratulations on your coronation, Kuran Yuuki-san."

"Thank you, Kiriyu Zero-san. I believe this meeting is adjourned?  
"Adjourned."

xXx

Parting Comments: Ahhh, they hate each other! They really do! I can't write any romanticky ZeroYuuki now because I can only imagine these two in my head, bickering and scratching each other. I can't wait till they've gotten over their differences and actually fallen in love in this story...Although that might take a while.

Also, for those who care, the plot bug has bitten me. A sudden increase in expected length should be duly noted.

Hugs and Kisses,

Eden


	3. Disceptation

Author: AuditoryEden

Rating:T

Warnings: Violence, Angst

Notes: And here we go again. Very little Zero this chapter...Oh well. This was written on the flight from PDX/Portland to JFK/New York City. I HATE FLYING.

xxXLeaderXxx

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Chapter Two: Disceptation

The young leader of the Hunter Council, junior in age to every other member, was going to cause trouble.

Yuuki wasn't sure how she knew it—after all, she barely knew the man. But he gave off a feeling, a sense of _run, run far away from me, for I shall wreak havoc on you and yours._ Maybe it was the tightness in his stance, the cat-like alertness, or maybe it was the oddness of his colors of eye and hair. Silver, purple, they were vampire colors, but Kiriyu Zero couldn't possibly be a vampire. Yuuki would be able to tell, her pureblood powers in that respect already functional.

Besides, he'd have to be ex-human. Who ever heard of a Level E killing other level E's for more than just entertainment?

And this treaty. The treaty was old, old, old and based on concepts and precedents that she didn't—couldn't—understand. It made no sense to her that the Hunter Council had to ask to wipe out level E vampires. They were the _Hunter_ Association, for goodness's sake! They were supposed to hunt the damn vampires so the other vampires didn't have to; nevertheless, there was a form sitting in front of her, leering up at her, mocking her youth and inexperience, telling her _you will never be your brother, you will only lead them to ruin_.

When she turned her eyes upwards, they were met with the source of the paper's leering aura. The damn Hunter Council President, lounging in his chair, mocking her with his creepy silver-lavender gaze, peering at her through his long silver bangs, his eyes set deep into his skull against sallow, almost waxy skin.

And yet, she still couldn't deny that he was _very_ good looking, even by vampire standards. This was a thought that bothered her, tortured her, and yet she couldn't begin to combat it. Attraction to her opposite number was not going to be helpful, she was sure, especially when he was such an honest-to-god _jerk_!

She held out her hand imperiously, the way she had been taught to all her life, and accepted the pen placed into it by Aidou with a tiny nod. She signed the paper with a flourish, inscribing the curls of her name onto the line, and then turned to glare once more at the man opposite her, sure to keep her expression as innocent as possible. He returned her unfriendly gaze, and a small part of her felt satisfied. At least he considered her enough his equal to glare at her. She dropped all pretenses and allowed her face to fall into the totally unwelcoming, belligerent scowl Kaname and the others had tried so hard to train out of her.

"If there is nothing left to discuss," she spat at him, making her distaste for himself and his clan of barbarians clear in every syllable. The Hunter looked momentarily surprised, but soon recovered, his facial expression minutely more satisfied, his eyes almost radiating smugness.

"I believe all issues have been addressed," he returned, his tone almost colder than hers, "Congratulations on your coronation, Kuran Yuuki-san." That would be just a pleasantry, she knew, because he and his had to be far from glad that she had taken the role of Head of the Council of Elders.

"Thank you, Kiriyu Zero-san. I believe this meeting is adjourned?" she asked.  
He gave her one final glare for good measure, then nodded. "Adjourned."

xXx

Ruka and Rima were standing just outside the door, giving Yuuki, "A moment to prepare herself". They had folded and tied her into an elaborate kimono robe, dressed her long hair, and helped her with her makeup as much as she allowed them. Now the princess stood before the mirror in her room, and watched her mother look back at her.

It wasn't really her mother, as her mother and father, along with her brother, were dead. Dead, buried, and their bodies long gone. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, earth to earth.

No, the woman in the mirror was not, by any stretch of the imagination, her real mother. The woman in the mirror was Yuuki, but in all the pictures she'd seen of her mother and father on their wedding day, her mother had looked just like this. The same chalky skin, whitened only a few shades by the layer of rice powder on her face and neck, lips red against the surface, eyes lined in black, then red, with a rose in red painted on her forehead. The back of her neck, although she couldn't see it, bore an elaborate swirling pattern, painted, then powdered, showing only a little of her flesh.

The robe itself was a masterpiece, worn by generations of Kuran women on the day they took power. Despite the copious underthings which burdened her with every step, she still felt beautiful wearing it. It was a dark, rich midnight blue, worked over first with a swirling pattern of cream-colored vines, then birds, layering from hem to shoulder, embroidered in gold, outlined in black, and accented by jeweled tones. Round the hem circled three peacocks, one with its neck held high, the other two curled around it like cats. Then one level up was the swallow, and so on, until at her shoulder perched a single hawk, glaring at the world with one angry orange eye. Around her, like some huge boa constrictor, the obi glowered a dim crimson against the birds, patterned over with silver flowers. Her feet were bare, as was traditional for this event.

She could still remember the day her brother had his coronation, already capable, a good leader. He had walked down to the crowd, dressed elegantly, feet bare, and his people had parted like the sea, kneeling before their king.

Kaname had been young. Their parents had died horribly when their children were only six and fourteen. But while his body was young, his mind was ancient. He was the incarnation of the Kuran ancestor. He had been more than ready to take power, even though he was three years younger that she was now.

It terrified the princess, knowing that she must rule them, relying on charisma and loyalty alone, like some human, or worse still, Hunter, until her powers were developed enough to rule them by fear, as her brother and parents had. Until the day she came into her powers, she would be flying blind.

"Princess?" Rima called out from behind the door. "Princess, you have to go now."

Yuuki sighed and shook off her fear. She had no time for fear now, only for wisdom and power, neither of which she possessed. "Yes, of course," she responded, and exited the room. Her feet barely made noise, and she reflected that if she couldn't actually rule them well, she at least looked like she could.

The noise in the hall was deafening. Vampires were rather like cats; they didn't do well in very large groups, and herding them was a nightmare. Here and there there were arguments, people sucking up and looking down and generally being as peaceful as a small warring nation. The passage of power was always unrestful, but now it was more so. Yuuki couldn't find even the smallest vestige of power over them, and she felt like a doll, dressed up and useless. Her appearance at the head of the stairs did begin to lay hush over the crowd, and then more and more noticed her.

Yuuki knew the ceremony like the back of her hand. While she was never actually meant to rule, not intended or educated for the throne, she would have gone through this on the day of her wedding to her not-brother Kaname, had he still been alive. She waited a certain number of moments before stepping gracefully down onto the stairwell, her descent measured carefully, her eyes demurely lowered in a sign of humility, to match her bare feet. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes lifted slightly, just enough to be sure there was nothing dangerous on the floor. Then she kept her eyes down again, walking through the crowd.

This was both an exercise of trust and a demonstration of the ruler's devotion to their people. For the day when they took power, a Vampire ruler had to lower themselves to the level of their subject, at least symbolically, and as they didn't look up to walk across the hall, they demonstrated their trust in the lesser nobles; they would not hurt their ruler, nor would they allow others to.

Yuuki finally finished her odyssey across the hall, her feet numbed by the cold marble floor. Waiting at the other side were Rima and Ruka, standing on either side of a pair of tall shoes rather like zori, in front of a dais, where a throne sprung, seamless, from the marble floor. The two girls, her handmaids, had very quickly put on their own ceremonial clothing in the time it took Yuuki to trek across the vast sea of vampires, all of whom now knelt, facing the throne. The path where she had walked had closed behind her.

Rima and Ruka each took one of their lady's arms and helped her balance as she stepped into the shoes, as was traditional, another display of trust. Then they drew slightly back, kneeling just at the bottom of the dais, while Yuuki stood, then stepped on to the dais with impeccable grace, never even wobbling, despite the nearly eleven inches which separated her feet from the floor. She made her way to the throne, but didn't sit in it. Instead she slipped out of the shoes and knelt before it, facing the vast sea of her people, her bare feet tucked beneath her, her back ramrod straight. The stone was painful on her knees, but she didn't waver.

The first person made their way forward; her brother's best friend, Aidou. He made his way to the bottom of the dais, between the two handmaids, and held out his hands. Yuuki reached to one side and brought forth a deep stone bowl, holding it out to him. He took the bowl from her and set it on the edge of the dais, just above where he stood. Then he nicked his thumb on a fang and let a single drop fall into the bowl.

Next went her hand maids, who didn't move from their kneeling position, quickly, almost simultaneously letting their blood fall. After them came a tide of vampires, and they all repeated the motions, each allowing only a single drop to join the pool of dark red in the bowl. Hours later, when the last person bled into the bowl, it was nearly full to the brim. Rima and Ruka both rose and lifted a white cloth which the settled over Yuuki's lap, then used a long silk strip to tie back her sleeves. Rima then handed her a knife, and they brought the bowl nearer to their Princess.

Yuuki could see that every vampire in the room was anxious, blood lust ruling every face. Yuuki alone managed to keep her eyes from glowing, her fangs from lengthening. This was a skill she had learned from her brother, who was a master of the technique himself. It was essential for those who held power to be able to maintain their composure, no matter what. He had been able to use sheer willpower, but she found that biting her tongue or cheek worked just as well in intense situations like this one.

Now came her part in the ceremony. Yuuki lifted one hand and slashed the wrist with the knife, before quickly transferring the blade to the other hand and repeating the action. As blood welled in her wounds, she quickly handed the knife off to Rima, the only other vampire in the room not currently salivating in excessive quantities. Yuuki allowed her wrists to drip through the shallow cuts before lowering her hands into the bowl of blood, up over the wounds.

The pain from the touch of the blood in the bowl to her own was enough to reign in any blood lust she might have felt. The knife was made of special steel, from the furnaces of the Hunters, and the cuts wouldn't close until Yuuki drank fresh blood. Now, as she bled into the pool of her subjects' blood, her subjects' blood seeped into her. This was part of the humbling thing, because for the next twenty or so hours, her blood would be dirtied, no longer pure, until her body properly metabolized the blood that wasn't her own. Then, any vampire who had given blood to the pool would be bound to her, their blood serving as an oath. She herself had given her blood to her brother in his ceremony, and if he had been alive, he would have given her his at their wedding.

As Yuuki withdrew her hands from the bowl, her whole body crawling with an unpleasant gritty sensation, her handmaids quickly wrapped each bloodstained appendage in white cloth, stemming the flow from her own wrists and wiping off the rest. The bowl itself was now lifted by Aidou, and somehow it's contents were distributed into a thousand little glasses. Each vampire had a glass, including Rima and Ruka, and they all drank their tiny measures of blood at once. Most of the blood was Yuuki's, mixed with the remnants of the others'.

After all have returned their glasses to the trays set out for them, Yuuki is again guided to her feet by her handmaids, most of her weight supported by them, in combination of blood loss and the ill feeling she has from the ceremony. This time they practically lift her into the shoes, and walk with her all the way across the hall, up the stairs, and back to her room. There they wash her hands, dress her wrists, and strip her out of the kimono and makeup. She is dressed in a nightgown, and they lay her in bed, where she lies, feverish. Rima smooths her hair back, and murmurs to her, before vanishing into the dark haze of Yuuki's illness.

Just before she falls asleep, she remembers how her brother lay in his bed, barely strong enough to breathe, fighting the sickness, with her there, carefully brushing his hair away from his face, cooing him to sleep.

Yuuki is alone.

xXx

Parting Comments: Oh, I jumped the angst train on this one, didn't I? I keep writing things that involve blood sacrifice of some kind. Is that strange? Have I been watching too much Buffy? Probably.

Anyway, I have this whole great plan for them now, and Zero and Yuuki will start getting closer soon, probably will be a lot longer before they fall in love, though. But they will, I promise. As usual, review, s'il vous plait.

Hugs and Kisses

Eden


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